eee LCRARY 


AUG 30 1997 


STATE OF ILLINOIS 
Department Of PRBIKE Hrealthois 
“Division of Vital Statistics | 


Springfield, I11. 


4 


Instructions and Information 


FOR 


me Local Registrars 


and 


Others Concerned 


in the 


REGISTRATION OF 
HS, STILLBIRTHS AND DEATHS 


PRESERVE FOR REFERENCE 


a 


PUBLISHED FOR THE INFORMATION OF 


hysicians, Local Registrars, Midwives. 
and Undertakers | 


JANUARY 1, 1922 
(Reprint, July, 1926) 
[Printed by authority of the State of Ilinois.] | i 


: NOT: This pamphlet is a reprint of the “Instruc- 
tions and Information’’ as published in the January 1, 1922 

edition of the Directory of Local Registrars of Vital Sta- 
tistics. Accordingly, the numbering of its pages is identical 
with the numbering of the pages as published in the 

‘Directory, with the exception that pages 2 and 3 are omitted. 

All requests for copies of this pamphlet or blank forms, 

and all other communications relating to registration matters 
should be addressed to— 

me 3 ISAAC D. RAWLINGS, M. D., 

' Director of Public Health, 


Springfield, Illinois. 
UNIVERSITY OF = 
Picea ILLINOIS LIBRARY , 
eM AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN. ad 


7 “ 


or County Clerks Record Copies of Blank Certific: 


_-? making their reports to County Clerks; Physicians, 


: 4 ; 
INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION FOR 
LOCAL REGISTRARS. 3 


Birth Certificates are to be reported to Local Regis- 
trars by Physicians or Midwives within ten days after each 
birth occurs.—See Sec. 12 of the Law. 

Death and Stillbirth Certificates are to be presented by 
Undertakers, in complete and satisfactory form (to the Lo- 
cal Registrars of the districts in which the deaths or still- 
births occur) for permits to bury or otherwise dispose of 
dead bodies, and in all cases before such bodies are buried. 


or disposed of.—See Sec. 5 of the Law. é 
COPIES OF CERTIFICATES. 


Two copies of each Original certificate of Birth receiv- 
ed from a Physician or Midwife, and each certificate of 
Stillbirth or Death received from an Undertaker, are to be 
made by Local Registrars, and one of each such copies — 
must be sent by them to the County Clérk of their County. 
—See Sec. 18 of Law. The other copy must be retained by 
Local Registrars as their own office record. These ‘office 
record copies,’’ held in the files of Local Registrars, will 
be found invaluable in settling all questions which may 
arise during each year in the course of their work, and ya 
also be found of great assistance in determining th 
amounts of fees due Local Registrars. Books ©: 
certificates of birth, stillbirth and death, set aside 
cal Registrars, offer convenient means of preservi 
fice record copies.”” ORIGINAL CERTIFICATES, 
DURING THE PREVIOUS MONTH, ARE TO BE 
ON THE TENTH DAY OF EACH MONTH TO T 
PARTMENT OF. PUBLIC HEALTH, SPRING 


ILLINOIS. . 
NOTE:—Local Registrars must not issue Pink 


Physicians, Undertakers, or others. These County 
Record copies are only for the use of Local Regist 


takers and others who fill out certificates and retur 
to Local Registrars must use Original Certificate ONL 
Local Registrars must send Original Certificates O 
the Department of Public Health at Springfield. 
Registrars should see that they have a sufficient 
of blank Original Certificates on hand at all times. 


TIME AND MANNER OF REPORTING CERTIFIC 
TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEAL 


It should be understood that when the State 
ment of Public Health refers to ‘‘Reports”’ for any 
it refers to certificates of the births, stillbirths or 
which occurred during that month, not to the next 
on the 10th of which such certificates are required 
sent to Springfield, and has no reference to the data} 
which such certificates were received by Local Regis 

Tt is the spirit of the Law, that the Vital St@ 

Month for Illinois shall coincide with the calendar MF i), 
and shall include the first and last day of each month ie 

PLEASE NOTE THAT REPORTS ARE NOT li a 
POSED TO RUN FROM THE 10TH OF ONE MON li 
THE 10TH OF THE NEXT, BUT SHOULD IN 1 tn 
ONLY THE DAYS OF EACH FULL CALENDAR hi Pri 

The reason that the reports for each month [: the 
required from Local Registrars until the 10th dave 
following month, is in order that Physicians may @ 
all cases, the full time of 10 days (as allowed them ip 

tion 12 of the Law) in which to report all Birth? 


192 na os 5 
may hhve occurred and been attended by them aunt the 
previous month. 

In order, therefore, that proper pely reports may 
be made, proceed as follows:— 

1. If Births, Stillbirths or Deaths OCCUR in your 
District during any month; hold them in your office until 
the 10th day of the following month, and then forward 
them promptly, in one shipment, with a VS No. 10 card 
fully filled out to cover them, at the same time sending 
to the County Clerk a V. S. No. 10 A. 

If you receive. any certificates for Births, Stillbirths, 
or Deaths which occurred during earlier months and 
which were delayed in reaching you—include them in the 
shipment, but—if you have certificates of Births, Still- 
births or Deaths on hand which occurred during the first 
ten days of the month in which you are sending the prev- 
ious month’s report—hold them over until the 10th day of 
the next month—so that you will be able to send all the 
certificates of “OCCURRENCE” during any month, together 
on the 10th of the next month. 

2. If you find, on the 10th day of any month, that 
you have received NO certificates of Births, Stillbirths or 
Deaths which OCCURRED during the PREVIOUS MONTH, 
send the Department on that day a Form VS No. 13 card 
filled out to cover that previous month; at the same time 
sending to the Co. clerk a V. S. No. 13 A—this VS: No. 
18 card will then become your report for that month— 
the month of “OCCURRENCH’’ in question. A Form VS. 
No. 13 card must always be sent for every whole calendar 
month during which no Births, Stillbirths or Deaths have 
occurred (no certificate of occurrence during the month 
received by you) in your district. (If it should so happen 
that you have on hand on the 10th, some certificates of 
Birth, Stillbirth or Death which occurred in months earlier 
than the month for which you are sending the VS No. 13 
card—these should, of course, be forwarded along with the 
ecard—but it must always be understood that the sending 
of such earlier month certificates does not constitute a 


report for the month covered by the VS No. 18 card.) 
3. ATTENTION OF LOCAL REGISTRARS WHO 


HAVE COMBINED DISTRICTS: Local Registrars who 
have charge of two or more Primary Districts combined 
into one Registration District, should always make 
monthly reports as follows: In preparing each monthly 
shipment of certificates for this Department, the Regis- 
tration District Number on all certificates belonging to 
combined districts will be the same. You have but one 
Registration District Number and it must be used on. 
every certificate without reference to the primary district 
in which the Birth, Stillbirth or Death may have oc- 
curred. Be sure that each certificate has its proper Pri- 
mary District Number, as well as its Registration Dis- 
trict Number, entered upon it; but in making reports on- 
the monthly form VS No. 10 card, (unless your district 
contains a City of more than 10,000 inhabitants and you 


have, therefore received special instructions to the con- 
trary covering the certificates for this City), disregard all 
Primary District Numbers and give a lump statement of 
the total number of Births—total number of Stillbirths and 
total number of’ Deaths forwarded in the shipment, giving 
the first and last Registered Numbers of each kind in each 
shipment sent from your Registration District as a whole. 
Léeal Registrars of combined Districts should un- 
derstand that they are not required to send separate Form 
VS: No. i3 cards covering their various Primary Districts. 
One VS No. 138 card only is’ required, made out to cover 
the whole Registration District and that only in case no 


6 
certificates of: any kind are received iy the Local "Regis: 
trar of occurrence during the month in question from any 
part of his Registration District—it being presumed by 
this department that each Local Registrar before making 
his monthly report has secured the returns from all prim- 
ary districts under his charge. 


CONCERNING MIDWIVES. 


5. No person has a legal right to officiate as a Midwife 
unless holding a license issued by the Illinois State Board 
of Health, or if dated since July 1, 1917, issued by the 
Department of Registration and Education under the pro- 
visions of the Civil Administrative Code; and any person 
signing as a Midwife or holding themselves out in a com- 
munity as a Midwife, not provided with such license, is 
subject to the penalty of Section 21 of the Registration 
Law. ; 5 

6. If it is found that no Licensed Physician or Li- 
censed Midwife was in attendance at a birth, the atten-— 
tion of the parents must be called to the matter. : 

7 A complete certificate of birth must be made out 
and signed by the ‘‘Father’’ or ‘‘Mother,’” and, if neither 
the father or mother are accessible on account of death or 
any other sufficient cause, the birth certificate must be | 
filed out and signed and filed with the Local Registrar by 
the ‘“‘houseeholder.’’—See Sec. 12 of the Registration Law. 

8. The names must be signed on the lower right hand 
corner of the Birth Certificates in the space designated 
for Physician or Midwife, with the relation of the person 
signing indicated (as ‘‘Father,’’ or ‘‘Mother’’ or ‘‘House- 
holder’) written beneath the name. 

9. If a birth certificate is presented to you stenea 
by some person who apparently has officiated without a 
license to do so, denominating himself or herself as Mid- 
wife, the case should be investigated at once and if your 
investigating shows that such person is not licensed the 
certificate is to be made as above described, to-wit: 

By the ‘‘father,’’ ‘‘mother’ or ‘‘householder’ and the 
Director of the Illinois Department of Registration and 
Education .should be notified of the person (giving name 
and address) practicing without a license. 

10. Midwives licensed as above indicated, are author- 


ized under the Registration Law to make out and sign 


certificates of Birth and Stillbirth only and in no case are — 


they to affix their signature to a certificate of death. 


11. A Stillbirth is a case where no signs of life what- a 


ever were shown after birth, but wherein the child was ac-— 
tually born dead. In such cases the Undertaker will 


‘make out one of the blue forms of Stillbirth Certificates — 


and present it to the Midwife to insert the cause of Still- 
birth, if possible, and to sign his or her name as the offi- 
ciating Midwife and this is all the record that is required 
for a case of Stillbirth. 

12. Where a child lives even for a few minutes after 
birth it is not a Stillbirth and the Midwife must not sign 


the Certificate of Death; but the Midwife must make a 


certificate of birth and present it o the Local Registrar; 
if no licensed physician is called in before the death, the 
case must be referred to the Local Registrar and the Coro- 
ner.—See Sec. 8 of the Law. 

13. If the Local Registrar and the Coroner decides 
that there is no evidence of ‘‘violence, casualty or undue 
; ee tn then the Local Registrar will maks the Core 

of dea 


14. It must be borne in mind that midwives are not to 


sign certificates of death as such certificates do*not con- — 


stitute legal records. 

15. “Perscns holding themselves out as Osteopaths, _ 
Chiropractors or other practitioners of any school should 
be questioned and the date of their State license required. 


°é 


¥ 3 


16. Unless such persons hold a license to ‘‘treat hu- 
man ailments’ issued by the State Board of Health (if 
dated prior to July 1, 1917, or by the Department of Reg- 
istration and Education if issued since that time) they 
have no legal right to sign certificates of death and Local 
Registrars must decline to accept such death certificates, 
but treat them as deaths under section 8 of the Registra- 
tion Law (deaths without medical attendance); but a duly 
licensed Osteopath, Chiropractor or other practitioner has 
a legal right to sign death certificates and they should be 
accepted by the Local Registrar, and will be acceptable 
to the Department of Public Health as complete and legal 
records, but they must not sign as Physicians. 

17. Whenever a question arises as to the legal right 
of a claimant in your district to sign death certificates, 
you should communicate at once with the Director of the 
Department of Registration and Education, Springfield, 
Illinois, who may be in a position to notify you whether 
the person referred to has a license to practice, and if he 
has not he has no legal righr to sign a death certificate. 


COMPLETE CERTIFICATES 


18. Local Registrars must inspect each certificate of 
Death or Stillbirth presented to them for a Burial Permit 
and see that it is complete at every item, (if data at any 
item is not obtainable have the Undertaker write in at 
such item, before the certificate is accepted by the Local 
Registrar, the word ‘unknown’ except that at the item 
of age always give approximate age.) ; 

19. If any Local Registrar accepts incomplete Death 
certificates and forwards such to the Department of Pub- 
lic Health, these certificates will be held in suspense 
while the Department communicates with him, request- 
ing the information necessary to complete them; thus he 
will be called upon to secure this data, which should have 
been supplied in the certificate when presented to him by 
the Undertaker. 

20. Local Registrars must also see that certificates 
of Birth presented to them by Physicians, Midwives, or 
other persons, (See Sec. 12 of Law) are complete, and that 
all available data is contained therein; but when a child 
is not named within the ten days allotted to the Physic- 
ians or other person in which to make a report, the Phy- 
sician or other person should make such report without 
the name, when the Local Registrar is to look to the par- 
ent to supply the lacking information. (Use Supplemental 
birth report V. S. No. 14—See Section 14 of the Law.) 

21. On Death certificates the Local Registrar must 
demand that the Undertaker indicate the occupation of 
the deceased fully and clearly in all subdivisions shown 


on the certificate. 

22. On Death certificates Undertakers must be re- 
quired to have the attending Physician or Coroner insert 
the Cause of Death and in no case will a_ local Registrar 
accept a Death certificate where the Undertaker has 
written in the Cause of Death himself, or signed the name: 
of the Attending Physician. : é 

92. Lead Pencil Certificates either of Birth, _ Still- 
birth, or Death must not be accepted by Local Registrars 
-as the Law requires that certificates accepted by Local 
Registrars must be made with unfading ink. Typewrit- 
ers may be used by Physicians in_ filling out Birth cer- 
tificates and by Undertakers in filling out Death certifi- 
cates or Stillbirth certificates but only so far as the per- 
sonal particulars are concerned; the names of the In- 
formants, the names of the Undertakeres, and the names 
of the Physicians must be written in ink in their own 
handwriting on Death and Stillbirth certificates; on Birth 
certificates Physicians must sign their own names with 
ink, as they have no legal right to ask another person to 
sign for them. 


8 


24. Firm Names of Undertakers must not be signed 
to Certificates as these are not acceptable under the Law; 
a member of each firm must sign personally. 


BIRTHS AND DEATHS OCCURRING IN 
HOSPITALS. 


(a) Section 16 of ‘‘The Law to Provide for the Regis- 
tration of All Births, Stillbirths and Deaths in the State 
of Iilinois,’’ makes it the duty of Superintendents, Man- 
agers, etc., of all Hospitals or other Institutions, public or 
private to make a record, at the time of admission, of all 
such personal and statistical particulars relative to the 
persons under their charge as may be required on author- 
ized Birth and Death Certificates. 

(b) Section 12 provides that “if the birth occurred in 
a public or private institution, it shall be the duty of the 
manager or superintendent of such institution to file with 
the local or sub-registrar a certificate of such birth, prop- 
erly and completely filled out as required by this Act,”’ 

(c) As a means of complying with these provisions, it 
is an established rule of the most progressive Hospitals 
of Illinois, that in every case of Hospital confinement the 
Certificate of Birth-is prepared in advance, in all partic- 
ulars except given name of child, sex and date; AND IS 
SIGNED BY THE ATTENDING PHYSICIAN IMMED- 
JATELY AFTER THE DELIVERY. After signature by 
the attending Physician it becomes the legal duty (under 
Section 12 of the Law) of the responsible officer of the 
Hospital to file each Birth Certificate with the Local Reg- 
istrar of the District in which the Hospital is located. 


CONSECUTIVE NUMBERING OF CERTIFICATES. 


(See Section 18 of the Law.) : 
25. There are three kinds of certificates:—Birth, 
Stillbirth and Death. j 
26. On the upper right-hand corner of all certificates 
you will find a blank line marked ‘‘Registered Number” ; 


on the first Birth certificate received and showing the 
current year as the date of occurrence you are to indicate 


Number 1, and on the second Birth certificate received 
showing the current year as date of occurrence you will 
insert Number 2 on this line and so on consecutively un- 
til the close of the calendar year when you are to begin 
again with Number 1 on all certificates. 

27. The’ first certificate of Death received showing 
the current year as date of occurrence will be marked 


Number 1 on the upper right-hand corner on the ‘line - 


provided for consecutive number, and your second Death 
certificate received showing the current year as date of 
occurrence will take Number 2 and so on consecutively 
until the close of the calendar year. 

28. Stillbirth certificates must be treated in the same 
manner, the first certificate received for the current year 
taking Number 1, the second Number 2, and continuing 
the numbering consecutively to the close of the Calendar 
year. 

29. When by election, appointment or otherwise, a 
Registrar begins his work in mid-year, the number to 
use on the upper right hand corner of the first Birth cer- 
tificate he receives will be the consecutive number next 
higher than that shown on the last Birth certificate re- 
ceived by his predecessor. 


hen a Local Registrar retires from office for any — 


cause, he should immediately notify the Department of 
Public Health giving date of his retirement and the name 
of his successor if possible, with the date he assumed the 
duties of the office. 

30. The number t9 use on the upper right-hand 


corner of his first Death certificate will be the consecu- — 


tive number next higher than the number shown on the 
last Death certificate received- by his predecessor; and 
his first Stillbirth certificate must be numbered consecu- 


tively with the last Stillbirth certificate received by his 


predecessor in like manner. 


9 
NUMBERING BURIAL. PERMITS. 


31. Owing to the fact that the Law requires a Burial 
Permit to be issued in all cases where a death occurs in 
some other State and the body is shipped into your Dis- 
trict for burial, you may issue more Burial Permits than 
there are Deaths in your District, hence, your consecutive 
Burial Permit number on the upper right-hand corner of 
the Permit may be a higher number than that shown on 
-your last Death certificate or Stillbirth certificate. 

32. Provision is made for this, by inserting the real 
consecutive number of the Death or Stillbirth certificate 
in the second space on the upper right-hand corner of 
the Burial Permit. For example your Burial Permit 
Number on the upper line might be 13, while on the line 
just beneath it, indicating the certificate number, you 
might have to use number 10. 


NUMBERING TRANSIT PERMITS AND DISINTER- 
MENT AND REINTERMENT PERMITS. 


33. The consecutive numbering on Transit and Dis- 
interment Permits has no connection with the consecu- 
tive numbering of your certificates of Stillbirth or-Death. 

34. On the Transit Permit, you will find on the upper 
right-hand corner a space for the consecutive number of 
the Pérmit. ; 

35. The first Transit Permit you issue will be Num- 
ber 1, and it makes no difference, what may be the con- 
secutive number of the certificate of Death or Stillbirth 
on which it is issued (as you may have received, and 
numbered a dozen certificates of Death or Stillbirth, prior 
to the Transit Permit being required) your first Transit 
Permit, will be Number 1, your second permit will be 
Number 2, and so on consecutively, until the end of the 
calendar year. 

36. The same is true of Disinterment and Reinter- 
ment Permits, on the upper left-hand corner of the last 
named Permits, you will find a space provided for con- 
' secutive number. Your first Disinterment Permit of 
- course, will be Number 1, and your second Number 2, 
and so on consecutively to the end of the calendar year 
without reference to the consecutive numbering on any 
of your certificates, or Burial Permits. 

37. For Disinterments, of course, you will have no 
Death Certificate (as the record of the Death would have 
been previously made), and hence, Local Registrars are not 
apt to confuse the Disinterment Permit numbers with their 
Stillbirth and Death Certificate numbers. 

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “REGISTRATION DIS- 
TRICT NUMBHER,” “PRIMARY DISTRICT NUMBER,”’ 
AND “REGISTERED NUMBER.”’ 

88. The ‘‘Registration District Number’ is the num- 
ber which designates the whole territory under charge of 
each separate Local Registrar. 

39. The “Primary District Number’’ is the number 
which designates each smaller part of territory which 
may be under charge of each separate Local Registrar. 

0. Where a Local Registrar has only one small Dis- 
trict under his charge, the ‘‘Registration District Number’’ 
and ‘‘Primary District Number’’ are the same. 

41. In making records of Birth, Stillbirth and Death, 
the ‘‘Registration District Number’’ must always. be 
placed in the little square provided on each certificate at 
the top. Below this must always be placed the ‘‘Primary 
District Number’ and this number must always agree 
with the ‘‘Place of Occurrence”’ as entered on each cer- 
tificate under Item 1. 

The “Registered Number’? indicates the number 
of certificates of each kind received, and is to be placed 
on the upper right-hand corner of each certificate of 
Birth, Stillbirth or Death. It is the consecutive number 
showing the order in which certificates are received. 


10 nee 
STILLBIRTH CERTIFICATES. | 


43. Stillbirths require a Burial Permit the same as | 


Deaths. < 
44, Stillbirth certificates are prepared on blue forms, 


and the white form of Death Certificate should never be 


used for Stillbirths. 
CORONER’S CERTIFICATES OF DEATH. 


45. The coroner’s certificate of death, is identical with — 


the medical certificate of death, provided for physicians, 
except that at Item 17 on the medical or physician’s cer- 
tificate, the physician certifies that he ‘‘attended the de- 
ceased’’ during a specific time, while the coroner at Item 
17 on the coroner’s certificate certifies that “I took charge 
of the remains of the deceased herein described.”’ 

46. Care should be taken to use the coroner’s form 


in all cases of inquest, and like care should be manifested 


to see that the ‘‘coroner’s form’’ of certificate is not used 
for the physician’s signature. 

47. A coroner has no authority to dispose of a dead 
body after his inquest is completed, but he is then to 
furnish to the undertaker a coroner’s certificate of death, 


and the undertaker will then take the certificate to the 


registrar of the district in which the body lies, and-pro- 
cure from him a burial permit before the body is removed 
for final disposition. 


BIRTH CERTIFICATES TO BE PRESENTED TO THE > 


REGISTRAR OF THE DISTRICT IN WHICH 
THE BIRTH OCCURS. 


48. The law provides that a physician or midwife, 


parent or householder, as the case may be, must present 
a certificate of birth to the registrar of the district in 
which the birth occurs, and within ten days from the date 
of its occurrence. 

49. In a few instances physicians and midwives, for 


the sake of convenience, have presented certificates of — 


birth to the registrar of some district other than the dis- 


trict in which the birth occurred, and the registrars have BS 


accepted the certificates and signed them with their name 
as registrar, also giving to the certificates their own regis- 
tration district number. 

50. While it is the intention of the Department of 
Public Health to put forth every effort to make matters 
as convenient as possible for physicians and all other pre- 


sons, yet the law provides, that birth certificates must he 


presented to the registrar of the district in which the birth 
occurs, and any other course is a violation of the law. 


51. Registrars should, therefore, decline to receive ae 


certificates of births belonging to any other district, and 
should instruct physicians and midwives to present them 
to the proper registrar. 


SENDING INCOMPLETE CERTIFICATES OF BIRTH 


WITH MONTHLY REPORT. 


52. The law requires physicians to present a certifi- — 


cate of birth to the registrar of the district in which the 
birth occurred within ten days after its occurrence. The 
child is not always named within that time, and there- 
fore, the physician, in order to comply with the law, may 
sometimes have to present a certificate of birth to the 
registrar without the name of the child. “When such is 
the case, the registrar is required by law to. procure the 
mime from the parents, by supplemental. birth report, 


forms of which ‘are ER aes by the Department of Public © 


. Health. (Form. V. 8. 
53. Registrars should exert an effort, at once on 
receipt of such a certificate to procure the name from 


the parents. If, however, on the tenth day of the month, ~ 


at tf a We 


‘ aes 


when the monthly report of original certificates is to be 


made to the Department of Public Health, they have not 
procured the name, to insert in the certificate, the regis- 


- trar should send the certificate without name with the 


other certificates, to the Department of Public Health, 
retaining the ‘“‘County Clerk’s record” until, through. the 
combined effort of the Department of Health and the \. 
trar, the name is procured, when it may be inserted in the’ 
“County Clerk’s record’’ and the certificate forwarded to 
him. : 


BURIAL PERMIT ACCOMPANYING TRANSIT 
PERMIT. 


54. In all cases where bodies are to be transported by 
common carrier, the shipping undertaker is to procure both 


a burial permit of the regular form and a transit permit, 


and the burial permit is to accompany the transit permit 
with the body, to the place of interment. 

: 55. The sexton will then endorse the burial permit as 
all other burial permits are endorsed, and return it within 
three days to the registrar of the district in which the 


cemetery is located, who will in turn forward it to the © 
issuing registrar within three days, as required by law. 


DEPUTY AND SUB-REGISTRARS. 


56. The 4th Section of the Law provides that each Local 
registrar must have a deputy registrar, to act in his absence 
or during other disability. 

57. The same section provides that each Local Regis- 
trar may have a sub-registrar, if convenience demands it, 
in some remote part of his registration district. 

58. If registrars desire to have a sub-registrar, they 
should indicate that fact to the Department of Public 
Health, when a sub-registrar appointment blank will be 
sent at once, in duplicate, to be returned to the Depart- 
ment for approval, as the law requires. 


DEPARTMENT RULING AS TO SUB-REGISTRARS. 


59. In order for greater convenience to undertakers, the 


Departmeni of Public Health has ruled that each registrar 


may act as a sub-registrar for any other registrar, in 
emergency cases, where the consent of the registrar of the 


‘district in which the death or stillbirth occurred, is first 


obtained. 


-60. This provision is’ made with a view to relieving 
undertakers of long drives in bad weather, by enabling them 


Re to procure a burial permit from the nearest registrar. But 


in no case is a registrar to issue a burial permit for the 
disposition of a body where death occurred in some other 


4 district, unless the consent of the registrar of the proper 


4 district is first obtained, and when such consent is obtained, 


the issuing registrar must sign the name of the proper 
registrar first, on the certificate of death or stillbirth, with 


his own name beneath it as sub-registrar and immediately 


forward the certificate of stillbirth or death to the proper 


registrar, so that he may make his own copy for the county 
clerk, and report the original certificate himself to the De- 


- partment of Public Health. 


61. The burial permit issued by such sub-registrar is to 


be signed in the same manner as the death or stillbirth 
_ certificate. 


All fees accruing for the issuing of burial permits by 


such sub-registrars are due the registrar of the district in 


which the death occurred, and if the issuing registrar re- 


~ eeives such fees, or any part thereof, it must be by agree- 
ment between the registrars. 


SEXTONS OF CEMETERIES. 


62. Section 11 of the law provides as follows: 
q “That no dead human body or part thereof 
shall be received by any person in charge of 


12 


any premises in which interments and other 
disposition of human bodies are made unless 
said body or part thereof is accompanied by 
a burial permit, issued by any local registrar as 
herein provided. 

‘“WMach person in charge of any burial ground 
or other place of disposition of dead human 
bodies shall keep a record in a book provided 
for that purpose, of each interment or other dis- 
position of a human body made in the cemetery 
or other place of disposal in his charge.’’ 

63. The special attention of sextons is called to this 
provision, and they should see that no body is received 
for burial in the cemetery of which they have charge, 
unless the undertaker presents a burial permit as above 
provided, since in doing so, they lay themselves liable to 
the penalties prescribed in Section 21 of the law. 

64. Books for keeping a record of burials in cemeteries 
will be supplied from the Department of Public Health on 
demand of sextons or registrars. 

65. Sextons are to detach the coupon on burial per- 
mits when the permits are presented to them by the-under- 
taker, and these coupons are to be retained by the sexton 
as a part of his record. 

66. When there is no sexton or other person in charge 
of the burial ground, the undertaker is required by the law 
to write across the face of the permit: ‘‘No person in 
charge,’’ and leaving» the coupon attached to the burial 
permit, forward it to the registrar of the district in which 
the cemetery is located, and such registrar is required to 
forward the permit, within three days to the issuing regis- 
trar, also leaving the coupon attached. 


FOLDING CERTIFICATES. 


67. Large envelopes will be supplied by the Depart- 
ment of Public Health on request from registrars. These 
envelopes are especially adapted to filing certificates of birth, 
stillbirth or death in the home office and also to forwarding 
them to the Department of Public Health. (Horm V. S. 16.) 

68. For the purpose of convenient handling and binding 
in books, as is provided by the law, it is very necessary 
that all certificates be preserved flat at all times; in no 
case should they be folded; the special attention of regis- 
trars is called to the importance of following this course. 


CERTIFICATES RECEIVED WITH BODIES SHIPPED 
FROM OTHER STATES. : 


69. In case of bodies shipped into a registration district 
of Illinois for burial, when the death occurred in some other 
state, a death certificate, or a copy of a death certificate 
may accompany and form a part of the transportation 
papers. 

70. In such a case the registrar should file the ‘death 
certificate’ or ‘‘copy’’ of the death certificate referred to, 
with all other shipping papers in the case, and make no 
report of it of any character, either to the Department of 
_ Public Health or to the county clerk. 


71. In no case include such death certificate, and do 
not number such death certificate with your certificates rep- 
resenting deaths in your’own district, but Simply file it as a 
permanent record in your own office. ; 


VIOLATIONS. 


: 72. Any. physician, midwife or householder failing to 
present a birth certificate to the registrar within the ten 
days allotted, has violated the law, and the matter should 


13 


be reported by the registrar to the Department of Public 
Health, as provided in Section 22 of the law. 

73. Any undertaker or other person having charge of 
the burial of a dead body, either in the case of stillbirth or 
death, who buries or otherwise disposes of such body, with- 
out first presenting a completed and satisfactory certificate 
to the registrar of the district in which the death or still- 
birth occurred, has violated the law, and the matter should 
likewise be reported to the Department of Public Health, 
as required in Section 22 of the law. 

Violations should be mentioned each month at the time 
of reporting. Space is provided on Forms VS 10 and VS 13 
(on the lower margin and back) for Violation reporting. 


PENALTIES. 


74. Sec. 21 of law. That any person who for him- 
self or as an Officer, agent, or employee of any other per- 
son or of any corporation or partnership, (a) shall inter, 
cremate, or otherwise finally dispose of the dead body of 
a human being, or permit the same to be done, or shall 
remove said body from the registration district in which 
the death occurred or the body was found, without the 
authority of a burial or removal permit, issued by the local 
registrar of the district in which the death occurred or in 
which the body was found; or (b) shall refuse or fail to 
furnish correctly any information in his possession, or shall 
furnish false information affecting any certificate or record, 
required by this Act; or (c) shall wilfully alter, otherwise 
than is hereinafter provided in this Act, or shall falsify 
any certificate of birth, stillbirth, or death, or any record 
established in this Act, .or (d) being required by this Act 
to fill out a certificate of birth, stillbirth or death and file 
the same with the local registrar, or deliver it, upon request, 
to any person charged with the duty of filing the same, 
shall fail, or neglect, or refuse to perform such duty in the 
manner required by this Act; or (e) being a local registrar, 


deputy registrar, or sub-registrar, shall fail, neglect, or re- 


fuse to perform his duty as required by this Act and by 
the instructions and directions of the State Board of Health 
thereunder, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and 
upon conviction thereof shall for the first offense be fined 
not less than five dollars ($5.00) nor more than fifty dollars 
($50.00) and for each subsequent offense not less than ten 
dollars ($10.00) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100.00), 
or be imprisoned in the county jail not more than sixty 
days, or be both fined and imprisoned in the discretion of 
the court. 


SOME REASONS FOR BIRTH REGISTRATION. 


ioctl ats. RHOUIRDD- BY LAW: --Thes law states: 
“Tt shall be the duty of the attending physician or mid- 
' wife to file a certificate of birth, properly and completely 
filled out, and in a form prescribed by the State Board of 
Health, with the local or sub-registrar of the district in 
which the birth occurred within ten days after the date of 
birth. If there be no attending physician or midwife, ‘then 
it shall be the duty of the father, * * *, or mother, * * * 
or householder where the birth occurred, * * * to file such 
certificate of birth.’’ It is the duty of the parents to see 


that the law is carried out. 

76. As an aid in securing correct reports of births, 
the State Department of Public Health has provided a spe- 
cial form of ‘‘Certificate of Registration of Birth,’’ to be 
sent, upon application, to every home from which a child is 
properly registered after January 1, 1921. 

However, it is obvious that such certificates can be 
issued only in cases where Birth Certificates are completely 
filled out, and the full name of the child is given. 


14 


VALUE OF BIRTH REGISTRATION TO 
INDIVIDUALS. 


77. Citizenship: It is the right of every child born in 
America to have the fact of its citizenship made a matter 
of official record. 


78. Inheritance of Property: A certified copy of a birth 
record is the best possible proof of heirship. Estates of 
great value have been lost to American citizens because 
neglect of birth registration prevented them from offering 
this form of proof. 


79. Nationality: Failure to have a certified copy of 
a birth certificate may cause a citizen of the United States 
to be interned or to suffer other serious inconvenience. 


80. The Right to Foreign Travel: Birth certificates or 
affidavits from reputable persons having accurate knowledge 
of the place and time of birth of the applicant are necessary ~ 
for the issuance of passports for travel in all countries out- 
side of the United States. Lack of proper birth records 
has caused serious inconvenience to men and women who 
wish to offer their patriotic service abroad. 


81. The Right to Attend School: School attendance is 
dependent upon age, and a child should be armed with a 
proper certificate of birth to prove that he is legally entitled 
to enter school. 


82. The Right to Work: The National Child Labor 


Law applying to children under 16 years requires that, if 


it is by any means obtainable, a copy of a child’s birth 
certificate be presented as proof of age before working 
papers are issued to him. Proper birth registration will 
also prevent evasion of the child labor law and protect the — 
child from injury. . 


83. The Right to Vote: If a voter is challenged at 
the polls for legal proof of his age, the copy of a birth. 
record is unquestionable proof of his rights. 


84. The Right to Be Married: Marriage licenses may 
be granted only to those of a certain age and marriages 
are invalid if contracted earlier. A proper birth certificate 
is the most important evidence. 


85. The Right to Hold Public Office: The law states 
the age requirements for certain offices, and Civil Service 
Commissions also set limits for examinations for office. The 
simplest and most valuable proof of eligibility as an office 
holder’ is a birth record. 


86. The Right to Military Service: The new draft law 
requires official proof of age. A man has a right to a record 
which will fairly adjust his service to his country. 


VALUE TO THE STATE AND TO SOCIETY. 


87. Social Plans: Birth Registration will secure the 


figures upon which to base accurate study of problems 


connected with infant mortality. Adequate work in sani- 
tation, social and community welfare for the protection of 
infant life and human life in general is dependent on accu- 


rate knowledge concerning the causes and places of disease oa 


and death. ‘Vital statistics are fundamental to any con- 
structive vision.”’ 


88. Education: Proper enforcement of laws regulating 
school attendance is made possible only where birth regis- 
tration is complete. The education of the children insures 
an intelligent citizenship. The State needs a record of births 


to secure proper education of every boy and girl. 
¢, 


89. Vital Statistics: The State has a right to a file of 


its citizens. Uncle Sam’s most important record is incom- 


plete until every state accurately and completely registers 


its births and deaths. 


THE NECESSITY FOR PROMPT REGISTRATION OF 
BIRTHS. 


90. The Care of Mother and Child: A birth certificate 


: promptly and properly filed is a notice to the public health 
authorities that care of the mother and child may be neces- 


sary. Immediate follow-up work may save life and health. 
91. The Prevention of Blindness: The law requires 

that drops supplied by the State Department of Public 

Health be placed in the eyes of every child at birth. Neg- 


lect of this precaution frequently causes blindness. Prompt 


registration of births will tend to prevent blindness. 
92. In Illinois there are between two and three thousand 


needlessly blind persons. Fifty per cent of blind cases 


in the asylums of Illinois might have been prevented by 


these simple measures. In New York State rigid enforce- 
ment of the birth registration law and prompt follow-up 


work by physicians and nurses has practically eliminated the 


disease of ophthalmia neonatorum, the most frequent cause 


' of blindness among children. 


98. For penalties to physicians and midwives for failing 
to report births, see Section 21 of law. 


IMPORTANCE OF DEATH REGISTRATION, 


94. The following are some of the important reasons 


“why deaths should be legally recorded: 


-1. To prove legal marriage it may be neces- 
sary to produce a certificate of the death of 
former husband or wife. 

2. Clear title to property may depend on a 
certificate of the prior death of some possible 
unknown claimant to the property. 

3. Title in inheritance depends on evidence 
of death of former owner. 

4. A certified copy of death certificate is 
necessary in securing payment of life insurance. 

5. Widows and orphans of deceased soldiers 

- must have a certified copy of death of the soldier, 
husband or father in order to receive pension. 

6. Properly completed certificates of death 
are essential in a scientific study of causes of 
mortality and as. a basis for protecting life and 
health. 

7. The individual citizen of the State, no 
matter how humble his position in life, or how 
insignificant his influence in the affairs of the 
community, is entitled to have an accurate record 
made of the important and vital events of his 
‘life. Since our State has undertaken to do this, 
the citizen has a right to expect that the 
State will perform its duty with precision and 
thoroughness. 

95. Registrars are charged with the responsibility of 


seeing that no burials occur without a complete and satis- 


factory death certificate being procured. 


96. For the provisions of the law requiring burial 
permits before dead bodies are disposed of in case of either 
stillbirth or death, see Section 5 of law. 


97. For penalties to undertakers for failure to procure 


_burial permits before dead bodies are disposed of see Section 


21 of law. 
(549883—1M—8-26) 1 ste 


THE LIBRARY © 74° 
AUG 30 1927 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 


